“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” -Maimonides

After your University graduation, you might think the learning is done, but regardless of your profession you will likely realize that is the furthest thing from the truth. You will likely learn more in your first year of employment than the previous four years of your post-secondary education.

This factor is often the differentiator amongst the world’s most successful people and those that work the typical 9-to-5. You often hear about the “genius” billionaires who dropped out of college to start these massive business empires. Are they more talented than you? Did they have some stroke of genius? Maybe…

The reality is, the most successful people in any given field simply never stop learning. Those who “dropped out of college”, found a passion and were willing to risk everything to learn and hustle to dominate that space. This infectious search for knowledge is what gives them the edge over their competition.

Tony Robbins is one of the most prolific examples of a self-taught millionaire. Tony Robbins came from a very poor childhood, and he wanted out. He didn’t have access to an ivy league education, or a network to help him get an idea off the ground – all he had was a passion for learning and a desire to help those who were suffering. Tony read every book he could get his hands on, and quickly became the top personal development coach in the world with a business valued at more than $400 million (if you want to hear Tony tell his story, you can catch it on Tim Ferriss’ podcast here).

25 years ago, it was a lot more difficult than it is today to research and learn. Most people were limited to books, and traditional education provided through high schools and colleges. Now, we are in an age where anyone with access to an internet connection has an equal opportunity to learn. Courtesy of MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses), you can virtually get the same education as Standford graduate, minus the tuition and degree.

If you want to be a top performer in your industry, like Tony, you can start by reading the “Top 10 Books” in your industry. You can find them by searching for them on Amazon; here’s a link to the Top 10 Books in Marketing and Sales to get you started.

NEVER STOP LEARNING!

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Doug Foley

Doug Foley is a podcast host, content marketer, and problem solver. He is also the youngest of 7 brothers and sisters, a proud father of 2, and is on a mission to help people find their passion, take action, and build the life they want to live. He frequently writes about entrepreneurship, personal development, and motivation.